1. Field of the Invention
A locking device is provided for locking an electronic module to a bank of terminal blocks, characterized by the provision of a body member having at least one pair of integral parallel spaced legs that extend downwardly and are locked within a corresponding T-shaped vertical groove contained in one end of a first one of the terminal blocks, said body member containing at one end a chamber that slidably receives a locking member, whereby when a vertical tongue integral with a side wall of the module housing is inserted within the groove or vertical groove or slot contained in the end of an adjacent terminal block, the locking member may be displaced relative to the body member toward an extended locking position above the groove containing the tongue, thereby to retain the tongue within the groove and, consequently, to lock the electronic module to the bank of terminal blocks.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
As evidenced by the U.S. patents to Horn et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,417, Eggert et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,881 and Dux et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,922, and the German patent No. DS 44 38 806 C1, it is well known in the patented prior art to removably connect an electronic module, such as an actuator, a sensor, or the like, with a bank of electrical terminal blocks, thereby to supply power to, or to electrically connect, electronic components and/or circuits contained within the module with the master system. Quite often the structural connection of the components is made by slidably inserting a T-shaped tongue that is integral with the module housing within corresponding T-shaped groove contained within the adjacent end of one of the terminal blocks, integral catch means being provided on the components which cooperate to lock the parts together. These known locking means present the drawback that after repeated and often rough usage, the cooperating catch parts become worn, thereby reducing the stability and reliability of the locking connection of the module with the bank of terminal blocks. Furthermore, even if the number of the catch means were to be increased to alleviate this problem of wear, the resulting increase of the locking force would be unacceptable since it would render separation of the components extremely difficult.